Panminerva Medica 1998 Dicembre;40(4):273-5

Usefulness of echocardiography in the assessment of internal medicine inpatients. An analysis according to ACC/AHA guidelines

Corrao S., Arnone S., Amato V., Licata A., Amico G., Licata G.

From the Institute of Internal Medicine University of Palermo, Italy

Background. We aimed to analyze the importance of echocardiography in our Internal Medicine Institute. We think that this technique could have a large impact in the evaluation of the internistic inpatient who is usually affected by multiple pathological problems.Methods. Analysis was performed according to the ACC/AHA guidelines for the application of echocardiography. The data of 1211 consecutive inpatients were analyzed.Results. Sixty-three per cent of all the patients had two or more associated diseases. Moreover, patients in whom echocardiography could be considered appropriate or useful were 67%. Our results point out that echocardiographic examination is generally a technique of great importance for the evaluation of internistic inpatients.Conclusions. This study could represent a useful background for a cost/benefit analysis that should evaluate the utility of a specifically-dedicated echocardiographic laboratory for optimal, autonomous management of internal medicine inpatients.